Team Cohesion = Performance

On December 10 2010, the company held their annual Christmas Party and put on a stunning Venetian-style Masquerade Ball and invited everyone at Albany Software to buy or create a mask for the occasion. On the night, there were awards for the most spectacular mask, the most creative mask, the most striking male and the most dazzling female. The Ball was well attended by 40 staff and 21 of their partners and everyone there enjoyed themselves, seeming to relish the occasion to let their hair down at the end of a challenging year. As always, these events are a great opportunity for staff at all levels including the Senior Management team to communicate and interact.

On December 10 2010, the company held their annual Christmas Party and put on a stunning Venetian-style Masquerade Ball and invited everyone at Albany Software to buy or create a mask for the occasion. On the night, there were awards for the most spectacular mask, the most creative mask, the most striking male and the most dazzling female. The Ball was well attended by 40 staff and 21 of their partners and everyone there enjoyed themselves, seeming to relish the occasion to let their hair down at the end of a challenging year. As always, these events are a great opportunity for staff at all levels including the Senior Management team to communicate and interact.

The leader of Aimia Foods operates an open door policy; any staff wishing to speak to him will feel very comfortable and can do this quite informally during any working day. He is very family orientated and will always take into consideration people's personal circumstances, which has ensured Aimia has been able to maintain its family culture. He is also happy to share the success of the business with staff. This is apparent by the large number of benefits on offer to all staff. As the Managing Director, he is extremely passionate about customer service, quality and health and safety.

Aimia Foods Rewards and Recognition programme has two categories, one for rewarding innovation and the other for rewarding employees who go the extra mile. The annual winner receives a brand new car.

A current example of how they support their lawyers is their Lawyer of 2014 programme. This is about equipping each of their fee earners to have the skills and expertise to be able to make a positive contribution to their business in a way that is aligned with their 2014 objectives. They have identified a number of key stages of an Associate's career, namely: New Associate, Associate Level 1, and Associate Level 2 and moving on to Managing Associate promotion stage. Their development programme has been built around each of these stages. They were one of the first law firms in the UK to introduce the MA level our programmes mark a stage in an associate's career; all have been specifically tailored to Addleshaw Goddard, and are very practical and delivered by a combination of internal and external experts. The programmes have been, and will continue to be, benchmarked against what is offered by other leading professional services providers.

A current example of how they support their lawyers is their Lawyer of 2014 programme. This is about equipping each of their fee earners to have the skills and expertise to be able to make a positive contribution to their business in a way that is aligned with their 2014 objectives. They have identified a number of key stages of an Associate's career, namely: New Associate, Associate Level 1, and Associate Level 2 and moving on to Managing Associate promotion stage. Their development programme has been built around each of these stages. They were one of the first law firms in the UK to introduce the MA level our programmes mark a stage in an associate's career; all have been specifically tailored to Addleshaw Goddard, and are very practical and delivered by a combination of internal and external experts. The programmes have been, and will continue to be, benchmarked against what is offered by other leading professional services providers.

Giving back to the wider community is very important to Abel & Cole. Every week they give food to local hospices and charities. Every week, through their Farmer's Choice not-for-profit scheme, they sell wholesale organic fruit and veg to schools, so they can sell them to parents and teachers, keeping the profit for school equipment and other fundraising projects. Every month Abel & Cole donate approximately 15 free boxes of fruit and vegetable to small charities, for auctions, raffles and other fundraising activities. Since June 2010 they have collected hundreds of unwanted bicycles from their customers, repaired them and shipped them to community projects in Ghana.

Keith Abel and Ted Bell, the leaders of the organisation, make regular ‘pilgrimages' to every sight in the company and meet with every single employee either as an individual or in small groups for a Q&A session. Managers are not present at the employees' meetings. This sometimes involves visits to the drivers' depots at 3.00 am and a lot of travelling around. These meetings have a huge impact on employee engagement as they cut out the middle-man and allow employees from all levels to sit down with those at the top of the company. Employees are invited to ask questions and give feedback and often the sessions can be quite intense and challenging from the directors. Afterwards, lists of actions are produced for each department and all employees are regularly updated on the progress of these actions.

4C Associates regularly work with charitable organisations that encourages youth from deprived backgrounds and ethnic origins, including people with disability to find work and do something worthwhile in order to keep people off the streets and help the environment we live in. The organisation also provides training and information regarding "going back to work" for everyone. They give up their time to assist in their project by assisting people in interviewing skills and providing office space for meetings and training.

The company allocate an experienced senior manager to mentor and coach each individual employee throughout the employee's entire employment life-cycle.

1HQ consider the level of support individuals will need to achieve their tasks. They review this regularly asking for feedback on how they feel things are going and set up shadow opportunities.They work with individuals on clearly explaining what is required, measuring where they are achieving and what needs to be done next. The company shows an interest in people as individuals and care for their needs. The company seeks to understand their ambitions and encourages their potential. Managers know their team inside out through team building events.

1HQ consider the level of support individuals will need to achieve their tasks. They review this regularly asking for feedback on how they feel things are going and set up shadow opportunities.They work with individuals on clearly explaining what is required, measuring where they are achieving and what needs to be done next. The company shows an interest in people as individuals and care for their needs. The company seeks to understand their ambitions and encourages their potential. Managers know their team inside out through team building events.

Salary is split between base salary and a discretionary bonus which is made up of three elements, company revenue, cash and personal objectives, so when the company is doing well, everyone benefits and there is an additional element of personal performance which contributes towards bonus payments.

Zeus have quarterly CEO awards, one to an individual in each team in the business, in recognition of outstanding achievement or efforts. The most recent awards in one department were i-Pads.

Staff at QC Supplies are given the opportunity to earn bonuses and commission by achieving agreed goals. Also, staff are frequently taken to events involving refreshments, entertainment and meals as a 'Thank you' for their whole-hearted committment to the company to ensure that they feel they are rewarded for their efforts.

QC Supplies have a nominated charity which receives their organisation's support and employees are actively involved in choosing which charity to support. They support the Send a Cow Charity, to which they donate a percentage of their Own Brand turnover towards provision of cows in Africa. In addition they also sponsor events held by local schools and charities.

Their employees may undertake a variety of training activities throughout the year dependent on their position, which department and office they are in. A focus for many is the Continuing Professional Development requirements of their professional bodies (such as ICAEW, ACCA, CIOT etc). These people attend update courses on all relevant areas of accounts, audit and taxation, and more specific courses such as charity legislation. They encourage their team to attend courses and to undertake challenging work for both the benefit of the company and their own personal growth. Examples of this include a series of practice and people management courses attended by two of our managers. This included areas where they had to apply the theory into practice between training sessions then to report back at the next session.

They have been very selective when moving offices, despite wanting the most suitable accommodation they have taken into consideration the location for team members, for example close to town for public transport and lunch hours. The cycle to work scheme and they also encourage participation in sports teams, including football, cricket, badminton and unihoc and arrange and fund the games.

We have an interative break out zone with amongst other things, a Nintendo Wii! Staff are encouraged to take a breather from their desks to use this area to clear their head and return to work with a clear and calm perspective.

They have an annual company conference, which not only gives the opportunity for employees to be updated regarding business performance and future strategy and developments, but also involves team building events, on a company wide scale. These are held in September of each year and this year, the employees worked in 4 teams (in line with our 'House system') and took part in 'it's a Knockout.' The budget has been utilised for their annual Christmas party, team based Christmas meals and a 12 days of Christmas campaign in the office, in which there is a different treat or competition for the 12 days of Christmas. There are also social events incorporated into the incentives for the sales team on an adhoc basis outside of this budget.

They support a charitable organisation which was founded by Working LInks - this is the Links Foundation. Each year they give a percentage of our profit (over £5m in 10 years). Local organisations within the communities where they work can submit bids to use this fund for local budgets. During this, their 10th anniversary year, every person in Working Links will be given a day to support a charity or local community project of their choice.

Although Working Links doesn't have a set budget for social events, they do support local managers to make their own decisions on funding events for their teams. These range from team lunches through to full days out. During their 10th bithday year as an example each team across the business was able to choose a day out for everyone to attend. Teams decisions ranged from days at theme parks or horse racing through to a 'car park carnival', where a team organised a fair in the office car park. As 2010 is Working Links' tenth anniversary as a business they also organised a huge event in London to celebrate. For this everybody in the business was given free transport and accommodation to London, where they had a huge black tie event. This brought together the whole business, with special prizes, fun activities and entertainment.

The company has an instant policy including things such as Meals/trips/football matches/wine.

The company has an instant policy including things such as Meals/trips/football matches/wine.

There is internal support counselling and recommendations for external providers to assist employees if required through Andover Mind and other counselling services. These can also be part or full funded by the company. Vitacress have a professional therapeutic massage consultant that comes in weekly and conducts 15 minutes head and shoulder massages for any employee that would like to participate. The employee pays for this service but Vitacress pay the employee whist they receive their massage.

There is internal support counselling and recommendations for external providers to assist employees if required through Andover Mind and other counselling services. These can also be part or full funded by the company. Vitacress have a professional therapeutic massage consultant that comes in weekly and conducts 15 minutes head and shoulder massages for any employee that would like to participate. The employee pays for this service but Vitacress pay the employee whist they receive their massage.

Village Vets support employees' wellbeing by offering healthy eating advice, Fit club and they also have external organisations to provide help with stress.

Village Vets try to encourage team work by holding Staff dinners, Theatre trips, bowling, ice skating and many more fun events.

In ValueClick we regularly meet up for social events such as Friday beer, Team-lunches and events such as Christmas parties, Summer Parties and Leaving parties.

In ValueClick we regularly meet up for social events such as Friday beer, Team-lunches and events such as Christmas parties, Summer Parties and Leaving parties.

All Turner &Townsend offices with more than ten people around the globe have a CSR representative and each of these provides a quarterly report to the CSR committee on how they have engaged with the community where they live and work. There is also an emphasis on children and homelessness. Staff have been given total freedom to choose local charities and good causes that have popular support within their particular office. Such activities as fund raising, taking volunteer days, time given for pro bono advise are monitored via key performance indicators, with a view to achieving a consistent approach globally and demonstrating continuous improvement.

All Turner &Townsend offices with more than ten people around the globe have a CSR representative and each of these provides a quarterly report to the CSR committee on how they have engaged with the community where they live and work. There is also an emphasis on children and homelessness. Staff have been given total freedom to choose local charities and good causes that have popular support within their particular office. Such activities as fund raising, taking volunteer days, time given for pro bono advise are monitored via key performance indicators, with a view to achieving a consistent approach globally and demonstrating continuous improvement.

TLT LLP have corporate rates at the national gym chain, Fitness First as well as the local Welshback Squash and Health Club to encourage their employees to stay fit and healthy. The Relaxation Station (a professional on-site service which helps to release muscle tension, alleviate headaches and improve circulation) visits the Redcliff Street Bristol office on a monthly basis to allow employees to have a 30 minute treatment of their choice at a reduced price. They also have quarterly visits from a local chiropractor who offers practical advice or treatment on back pain and associated ailments.

Staff are rewarded through an annual party which this year included complimentary drinks and amusements including dodgems, a surf simulator,gladiator duel, and music. There was a prize draw to win prizes including flights from Bristol to any European destination, an iPad and a balloon ride. In addition, there are specific group and team parties led by the relevant group or team leader to thank and reward staff. For example, Richard Waller who heads TLT's Financial Services Group has an annual party at his home for all 250 staff in the group. As well as providing food and drink, Richard invites staff to use his swimming pool and arranges a live band, bouncy castle, laser maze and other activities. TLT provides a social budget which teams are actively encouraged to use to fund team Christmas parties or other team days out.

Performance is recognised with annual employee awards. Instant recognition is given with spot rewards through their Moments of Magic programme.

Performance is recognised with annual employee awards. Instant recognition is given with spot rewards through their Moments of Magic programme.

The Crown Estate have a Reward package called MyReward which encompasses salary, bonus, perfomance management, pensions and benefits. This is an important element of their strategy for success. They also celebrate success at an individual level through recognising people's achievements in their internal communication channels.

The Crown Estate local communities span the UK. They are developing a corporate community investment strategy but already operate in a number of estate based (Rural, Marine or Urban) communities. They work with agricultural tenants to help them diversify or join a prestigious food store's supply chain. They have a Marine Communities Fund through which about £400k p.a. is directed at specific projects. They are a founding member of the Westminster Small and Medium sized Business forum, have provided community halls for various groups and regularly permit the use of their Board Room as a local unit for community events/local groups.

The Brand Union believe in instant recognition, they give vouchers and cards for hardwork and going above and beyond. They also reward ideas or innovation at the Mongrel Vigor awards and WOW awards for specific achievements.

The Brand Union believe in instant recognition, they give vouchers and cards for hardwork and going above and beyond. They also reward ideas or innovation at the Mongrel Vigor awards and WOW awards for specific achievements.

On average, employees at Teva UK Limited receive 60 hours per year formal training with an average spend being £850 on training per year. Examples of the sorts of training activities your employees might undertake are: Management & Leadership Development, - coaching, motivation, situational leadership, influencing & assertiveness, communications, presentation skills, negotiation skills, junior, middle & senior management development programmes; development centres Specialist/Operational training per function, eg regulatory training, operations training, warehourse, distribution training, packaging training, medical training, competition law training, sales effectiveness training, account management training, Attending conferences/seminars based on functional needs. eg HR attends the CIPD conferences.

On average, employees at Teva UK Limited receive 60 hours per year formal training with an average spend being £850 on training per year. Examples of the sorts of training activities your employees might undertake are: Management & Leadership Development, - coaching, motivation, situational leadership, influencing & assertiveness, communications, presentation skills, negotiation skills, junior, middle & senior management development programmes; development centres Specialist/Operational training per function, eg regulatory training, operations training, warehourse, distribution training, packaging training, medical training, competition law training, sales effectiveness training, account management training, Attending conferences/seminars based on functional needs. eg HR attends the CIPD conferences.

Teletext Holidays have Milestone Recognition by giving additional holiday for long servers and Instant Recognition is given which is usually drinks in the pub!!! Individuals at Teletext Holidays with great performance are recognised by the full company at monthly meetings.

Teletext Holidays have a budget specifically for fun and social events. Some examples of these events are: Bowling, Quizzes and Nights Out. Team celebrations are held with regular monthly meets and specific milestones are always celebrated in various styles. Staff at Teletext Holidays recently celebrated Stag and Hen do's for two team members.

TD Waterhouse match funds raised by their employees for charity pound for pound with no upper limit. Their HR Director is chair of the Leeds and Bradford Cares Advisory Board. - In the past 12 months they have won the CARES North West Community Impact award and more than 48% of employees have so far taken part in one or more CSR activity this year. They also achieved a Gold Award for their Investors in People Application. They use CSR as a development tool and have a CSR module on their Management Development Programme. They have a mix of volunteers across all of the business areas at all levels, from the CEO and beyond and their CSR strategy adopts a community based approach to ensure that they are giving back consistently to the communities in which they operate.

TD Waterhouse match funds raised by their employees for charity pound for pound with no upper limit. Their HR Director is chair of the Leeds and Bradford Cares Advisory Board. - In the past 12 months they have won the CARES North West Community Impact award and more than 48% of employees have so far taken part in one or more CSR activity this year. They also achieved a Gold Award for their Investors in People Application. They use CSR as a development tool and have a CSR module on their Management Development Programme. They have a mix of volunteers across all of the business areas at all levels, from the CEO and beyond and their CSR strategy adopts a community based approach to ensure that they are giving back consistently to the communities in which they operate.

Tameside College beleive in Milestone Recognition and after both 20 years and 30 years service they have Awards. They also have a Formal Dinner for Employees and Partners and £200 voucher for them to spend. Tameside College also recognise employees with their College Pride Campaign - 'What have you done to make the College feel proud of you'.

Tameside College has a budget specifically for fun and social events such as their Fun Day and Christmas Party. The College leadership and management team meet 4 times a year to share ideas and the challenges that the organisation faces. In addition to this there are individual team training activities as part of the 5 Development days in place for staff training each year.

Talkington Bates visit local colleges and schools for chefs where they hold live Q&A or surgery sessions. Their offices are open plan and senior management hot desk, they always operate an open door policy. They have a staff forum on the intranet with an intranet based ‘Ask the leader' system and the leader/ senior management interact with employees during regular site visits. The leader of the organisation in particular knows all staff by their first names, visit all sites on a regular basis and takes a personal interest in all staff.

Talkington Bates have training programmes on the intranet for their managers and offer pay/ support for external management qualifications through NLP and external training facilitators. Individual training plans are set and 360 feedback is given at 6 monthly appraisals. All managers have a mentor as well as external coaching/ mentoring through Skills south east. Managers regularly attend seminars on employment law as well as field trips to other sites, suppliers and high street organisations.

System C plc ensure that employees feel they are rewarded for their efforts. They have a Competitive benefits package, Annual performance related bonus (based on company performance and indiividual performance), Competitive salaries (internal/external benchmarking to ensure fair and equitable salaries), Comprehensive Appraisal process in place as well as regaular one to one meetings with line managers to discuss progress against set objectives. The Company supports employees through professional qualifications, both financially and with given study leave. There is a dedicated training budget in place for each employee, to ensure continued personal development. Share options are awarded to employees for performance periodically and they have implemented a SAYE for 3 years sharescheme.

At System C plc they offer HR mentoring/support, dedicated training budget should external course be required and support from Executive Directors and Operations Board for all line managers. Paid time off and financial support is given to support management qualifications(i.e. FCIPD MCIPD MBA PhD CIMA Management Accountancy qualifications. Mentoring and Coaching schemes are in place as well as 'HR In Touch' - Coaching for employees and managers and 360 feedback internal and external schemes are in place. External coaching/ mentoring are available for executive and operation board directors and the HR team regularly attend external seminars on employement law which are run by local and london law firms and Work-Stream Manager Meetings Senior Management Meetings.

Styles&Wood ensure that employees feel they are rewarded for their efforts using a number of methods. Email and noticeboard recognition is given and a day's holiday is awarded to the Colleague of the month. Vouchers are rewarded to colleagues receiving the Chief Executive Values Awards and team meals are presented to teams exceeding business expectations. Personal letters and certificates are also awarded by the Chief Executive Officer.

On average employees receive 32 hours per year formal training with an average spend per employee on training per year of £665. Examples of the sorts of training activities their employees might undertake are: SMSTS, First Aid at Work, Fire Warden, Asbestos awareness, Working at Height, IOSH In Design Managment & Leadership Customer Service, IT skills NVQ's, Business Administration Funding for Degree courses, Public speaking, Presentation skills, Stress Management, Time/ Programme management and Personal Development Reviews.

Stephenson Harwood professional fee earning employees receive technical and legal training coupled with a comprehensive range of key business skills such as people management, financial management, business development and leadership. Similar topics are run for their support staff alongside their personal development plans. In addition to specific role-related training. All staff receive a full induction and ongoing IT training. Stephenson Harwood also offer intermediate language training and compulsory training to comply with the Solicitors' Regulatory Authority and Solicitors' Professional Skills Course. Additionally, they offer support for the external technical, legal or professional courses, as appropriate, such as an LLM, CTA, or ACA.

Stephenson Harwood professional fee earning employees receive technical and legal training coupled with a comprehensive range of key business skills such as people management, financial management, business development and leadership. Similar topics are run for their support staff alongside their personal development plans. In addition to specific role-related training. All staff receive a full induction and ongoing IT training. Stephenson Harwood also offer intermediate language training and compulsory training to comply with the Solicitors' Regulatory Authority and Solicitors' Professional Skills Course. Additionally, they offer support for the external technical, legal or professional courses, as appropriate, such as an LLM, CTA, or ACA.

Some examples of the sorts of training activities Steljes employees might undertake are product training event weekends, bespoke training courses written for Managers and employees, Health and Safety Training, Professional Qualifications, Role specific courses, Internal Product Training and Product Certification Training. There are fully funded professional courses, time off work for study leave and exams and fully paid for course materials.

Some examples of the sorts of training activities Steljes employees might undertake are product training event weekends, bespoke training courses written for Managers and employees, Health and Safety Training, Professional Qualifications, Role specific courses, Internal Product Training and Product Certification Training. There are fully funded professional courses, time off work for study leave and exams and fully paid for course materials.

On average, employees receive 8 hours per year formal training, with an average spend per employee of £500 on training per year. Examples of the sorts of training activities STA Travel employees might undertakeare: Head Office Brand and Culture training sessions, Presentation skills courses (2 day), Recruitment Training sessions, 3-week induction courses, Assistant Manager course, Coaching courses, STAy workshops, Eurostar courses, Travel Connect courses, 1 day finance team training, new Branch Manager support days, weeks training in Sweden, Sales Training Courses, webinar sales training sessions for Sweden and The design of 60 coaching cards to support the face to face with the customer programme…

Managers toolkits are available on the intranet at STA Travel as well as formal external management courses. Internal management development training is offered as formal leadership training opportunities and coaching/ mentoring is provided by external leadership specialists. STA Travel have external meetings within peer groups and HR Breakfast meetings provided by Employment Lawyers etc are supported. They support and enhance the development of people managers within their organisation by working alongside the employees providing easy access to decision making and coaching.

SRK conducts annual appraisals of all staff, supported by 6-monthly mid-term reviews and regular feedback from managers. In additon, SRK rewards all staff trough an annual discretionary bonus scheme.

SRK conducts annual appraisals of all staff, supported by 6-monthly mid-term reviews and regular feedback from managers. In additon, SRK rewards all staff trough an annual discretionary bonus scheme.

Keith Griffiths, Managing Director and HR Manager have quarterly informal lunch get togethers with employees from three hotels. Usually three colleagues from each hotel are picked up in the MD's and HR Manager's cars and transported to the venue where they have an informal chat about how it is working for Somerston and including a brief business update. Keith Griffiths and Senior Managers make regular, structured visits as well as ad hoc visits to all locations and purposely engage with the front line employees.

All Hotels employees except GMs have their hours monitored , Somerston don't encourage opt out from Working Time Directive though a few do in order to meet their personal economic and social needs. They encourage employees to take their annual leave in small chunks on a regular basis rather than saving up for a long holiday though they are often receptive to such requests for long breaks. Somerston do assess the potential impact on the employee not taking regular breaks.

Skills Training encourage employees to form peer to peer groups particularly when they have been training together. These groups share knowledge and experience with each other. When employees have attended training they do a presentation for their peers that have not attended to share their learning. For example their trainers from the delivery centres pooled their expertise and designed and rolled out an innovative one day intensive support programme which was a success. Skills Training operate a buddy system ensuring that new staff are matched with an experienced colleague to support with settling in time and development of job role.

Skills Training encourage employees to form peer to peer groups particularly when they have been training together. These groups share knowledge and experience with each other. When employees have attended training they do a presentation for their peers that have not attended to share their learning. For example their trainers from the delivery centres pooled their expertise and designed and rolled out an innovative one day intensive support programme which was a success. Skills Training operate a buddy system ensuring that new staff are matched with an experienced colleague to support with settling in time and development of job role.

Simpson Millar LLP Solicitors provide staff with subsidised gym membership should they wish to join a gym. They operate an open and relaxted culture. Whilst staff are given realistic work related targets, this is not at the expense of a home life. Wherever possible, they allow staff a great deal of flexibility in order that they may acheive a greater work/life balance. Where the nature of their work allows, staff are able to take work from home days, reduce their hours, etc.

Simpson Millar LLP Solicitors have a budget specifically for fun and social events. Examples of these events are: Christmas Party's, pre-wedding celebrations, regular Friday evening social events for staff providing nibbles and drinks, Corporate Race day. Each department holds celebrations at year end together with other milestones. In particular, one of their most recently added teams celebrated the end of their first 6 months with Simpson Millar by way of a celebratory meal. Certain departments with Simpson Millar operate on a team target rather than an individual target and are therefore rewarded by way of a bonus upon reaching target. A Training Weekend is held annually in Birmingham where all Partners & Fee Earners attend Austin Court for training, seminars and presentations as well as an evening social function.

Every new Stylist hired attends their Advanced Academy for 7 days induction training to RUSH hair techniques. They run a full programme of leading edge hairdressing training at their purpose built Advanced Academy, delivered by their Award Winning Artistic Team. They offer an Award winning NVQ Apprenticeship programme for their 16-18 year old Apprentices. They also run Monthly Masterclasses for Managers covering all the functional training in HR, Marketing and Finance. Monthly Management 1-1 Coaching sessions with our Chairman

Their HR Director runs masterclasses in People Management, Employment Law, Employee Satisfaction. They have ran Presentation skills and Train the Trainer sessions for managers who deliver Team Talks.

RPM ensures that success, as a result of an indivdual or team, is not only made public to the whole office, but also celebrated. For example, in their weekly news letter they have a special 'thank you's' section,which specifically encourages and therefore recognises hard work or particular individual achievements. Also, everytime there is a new client win, a member of that team will ring the 'new business bell' that sits on the Account Team wall, which lets everyone know of this achievement and helps to bring the office together. Whenever an employee is promoted they are given bottle of champagne by the MD.

Dom Robertson, Managing Director of RPM, oversees the entire agency, which has grown significantly over this year. As a result, Dom ensures that, regardless of where an individual is or how long they have been with the business, he will spend time with them equally and also devotes a huge amount of his personal time visiting all of our live activity. Whether evenings or weekends, he will ensure he spends time seeing the work of the business and feeding back on successes as well as spending time with people in the field. Dom is accessible and fully engaged with the agency and everyone who wishes to, can have time with him, whether to simply chat about personal issues or to put forward suggestions for the agency. He also lives the company values and ensures his senior team embody them as well as especially ‘leading by example'.

Roland's most recent total spend on training was approximately £100k, This, however, is not split per person. Line managers assess their employees training needs on a regular basis and will arrange training wherever required. Employees are also encouraged to request relevant training which is paid for by the company should it benefit both the employee and the company.

Team building events are generally organised by department/team rather than whole company. The last time the whole company was involved in a team building event was with Picture Perfect. This involved different teams having to sketch and paint what seemed like abstract prints. However when it came together it actually was a 25ft long Roland logo.

Robinson Low Francis say "Steve is a strong, visible leader who interacts with his partners and staff on a daily basis. He encourages ideas, he is enthusiastic, he believes in his company and his staff, he is outspoken and approachable and believes in transparency."

Robinson Low Francis say "Steve is a strong, visible leader who interacts with his partners and staff on a daily basis. He encourages ideas, he is enthusiastic, he believes in his company and his staff, he is outspoken and approachable and believes in transparency."

Robert Dyas provide an Operations and Procedures Manual and all requests for support for external management qualifications are considered, Colleagues have had time off for study, time off to attend courses or leave early and also financial support is awarded if the qualification links to the job role i.e. CIPD /CIMA. They have a Senior Store Manager programme with the top 10% of Store Managers and run an Assistant Manager training programme. 360 feedback has been done within the Operations Team (District Managers/Communications and HR). They have recently trained their Ops team in Predictive Index (PI) which they also distributed to all Store Managers.

Robert Dyas have a No Smoking Policy and Smoking is not permitted inside any premises and a lot of Head Office Colleagues will now offer fruit as well as cakes when buying for their birthday! They promote their Retail Trust Helpline as well as encouraging colleagues to approach their Line Manager or HR if they have an ongoing concern. With regards to other mental health issues they refer all cases to their occupational Health provider for advice and support and any colleague who requests time off for private treatment will be given the time requested. Head Office colleagues have a discounted membership at the local Health Centre and they encourage all Colleagues to take regular breaks.

RLB Academy was set up specifically to focus on development of all the staff to ensure consistency of knowledge, skills and behaviours in whatever role is being performed and to ensure that all their staff are given the training, education and development opportunities they need to enable them to fulfil the requirements of their jobs and to achieve their potential in line with their PDP's. As RLB continues to expand, so do the Academy initiatives to ensure that RLB fulfil the needs of all their people and all their businesses including a drive on service delivery competence this year to exceed client demands in the tough economy.

RLB Academy was set up specifically to focus on development of all the staff to ensure consistency of knowledge, skills and behaviours in whatever role is being performed and to ensure that all their staff are given the training, education and development opportunities they need to enable them to fulfil the requirements of their jobs and to achieve their potential in line with their PDP's. As RLB continues to expand, so do the Academy initiatives to ensure that RLB fulfil the needs of all their people and all their businesses including a drive on service delivery competence this year to exceed client demands in the tough economy.

RFIB Group Limited use performance recognition and have an Unsung Hero Award - awarded monthly at the company presentation evening. This is given for excelling in one of the core competencies of Strive for Excellence, Technical Competence, Problem Solving, Working with Others, Working with Others, Communication and Commercial Awareness. They also have a milestone recognition scheme where additional leave is given upon reaching 10 and 15 years of service and after 25 years of service employees are given the gift of a watch.

RFIB Group Limited use performance recognition and have an Unsung Hero Award - awarded monthly at the company presentation evening. This is given for excelling in one of the core competencies of Strive for Excellence, Technical Competence, Problem Solving, Working with Others, Working with Others, Communication and Commercial Awareness. They also have a milestone recognition scheme where additional leave is given upon reaching 10 and 15 years of service and after 25 years of service employees are given the gift of a watch.

Ranstad encourage team work and interaction by holding Christmas Parties, Annual conference Summer Event - outdoor activites- quads,treasure hunt,bbq Charity quiz night Company birthday party networking events Football and netball tournaments.

Ranstad encourage team work and interaction by holding Christmas Parties, Annual conference Summer Event - outdoor activites- quads,treasure hunt,bbq Charity quiz night Company birthday party networking events Football and netball tournaments.

On average, employees receive 21 hours per year formal training with an average spend of £500 per employee on training per year. They provide many in house lectures delivered by both staff and other companies which provide short burst updates in emerging techniques and technologies. Underpinning this they have a highly developed training scheme delivering single or multiple day courses in specialist fields, software and health and safety.

Ramboll UK do not have an upper limit for matched funding and funds have been matched for Haiti Disaster Relief, and the Royal Marsden Hospital Cancer Unit. Ramboll also allow their employees to choose a charity once a month at an office drinks event where the proceeds for funds raised go to this charity. In partnership with Kier Group and timber panel supplier KLH, Ramboll UK created an exhibition as part of the London Festival of Architecture that highlights issues of climate change. An interactive artwork that invites users to consider questions around sustainable living, the Carbon Cube also promotes the use of renewable materials in construction.

Radley Yeldar have a budget specifically for fun and social events. They run a range of away days during the year so that everyone has the opportunity do get out and do something that appeals to them with their colleagues. They hold RY Community Days volunteering in the local community and other activites include: football, cheese tasting, poker and wine tasting And of course the RY Summer and Christmas party. A recent team bulding workshop focused on encouraging people to: Develop greater trust in one another through honest adult feedback, Develop greater degrees of openness and honesty with one another, Use plain honest speaking as a way of building trusting relationships, Recognise the tension between personal performance and team ethos and develop personal strategies to manage the tension.

Radley Yeldar have a budget specifically for fun and social events. They run a range of away days during the year so that everyone has the opportunity do get out and do something that appeals to them with their colleagues. They hold RY Community Days volunteering in the local community and other activites include: football, cheese tasting, poker and wine tasting And of course the RY Summer and Christmas party. A recent team bulding workshop focused on encouraging people to: Develop greater trust in one another through honest adult feedback, Develop greater degrees of openness and honesty with one another, Use plain honest speaking as a way of building trusting relationships, Recognise the tension between personal performance and team ethos and develop personal strategies to manage the tension.

Some examples of the sorts of training activities that Qiagen employees might undertake are courses, mentorship, coaching and online sessions. There is internal coaching/ mentoring for women at work.

Qiagen held a Christmas party at a local hotel where a three course meal was provided, an open bar, disco and accommodation or transport for the evening. There is also a Summer party where partners/family are invited. In the past this has included a roller disco.

At QBE the company takes a flexible approach to accommodating requests for time off work, in particular supporting those whose requests are on medical grounds and time off in lieu is offered at manager's discretion. QBE is undertaking a long-term strategy alignment and brand programme which began in 2008 when it embarked on an inside-out approach that saw all UK and European employees attend The Big Difference workshops. The workshops equipped QBE people with the knowledge of who QBE is, where it has come from and where it is going. This continued with The Big Goal where employees were asked to give feedback on how QBE could improve the experiences its key stakeholders have of QBE. This resulted in a number of key initiatives, for example, buying and selling of holiday entitlement.

At QBE the company approach to salary review and annual bonus awards focuses on linking performance, through the annual appraisal/performance management process with financial awards. This exercise is supported by annual benchmarking exercises to ensure that employees feel they are rewarded for their efforts.

Salford Software Ltd ensure that employees feel they are rewarded for their efforts with performance related payments, one off financial and non financial recognition awards.

On average employees receive 8 hours per year formal training with an average spend per employee on training per year of £800. Examples of the sorts of training activities that employees at Salford Software Ltd might undertake are professional qualifications with field of expertise plus regular updates on new products or sytems.

Examples of how PSN engages with schools and colleges include workshop sessions for students on interpersonal and communication skills, information on the oil and gas industry (e.g jobs available), CV writing, applying for jobs, interviewing techniques and facilitating meetings. These sessions have taken place at Old Machar Academy and Mearns Academy. Members of their HR team mentor students at Robert Gordon University who are studying for their MSc in Human Resource Management. Engineering students from RGU universities meet with practicing engineers to mentor and discuss options for career development within oil and gas and other industries.

PSN hold a number of fitness actvities throughout the year including the 'Fit 4 2009 Challenge.' This involves measuring the fitness of the participants at the beginning of the programme and then again 8 weeks later. There are 6 areas to check which include body fat, blood pressure aerobic capacity and flexibility. They continue to maintain their 'Healthy Working Lives' programme. The standards criteria give them a framework to develop a strong health strategy within the business. It gives them a means of tackling not only the 'nicer' topics of health such as general fitness, but also the more difficult subjects such as urinary tract cancer, drug and alcohol abuse, stress and mental illness. Although not easy subjects to tackle they continually get wide support to 'lunch & learn' sessions throughout the year with most being over subscribed.

Appreciation is instant and communicated company wide via the electronic mail system. Rewards for ideas or innovation are part of the discretionary annual bonus at the end of the year.

powerPerfector serves as a platform for the voice of future generations. As the sponsor of www.footprintfriends.com, powerPerfector has made a commitment to taking an active role in supporting the climate change conversation for children. Their belief is that young people should be encouraged to be actively involved in the climate change challenge and that there is urgency in enabling them to actively make their own impact at school and in the home. An outcome of this partnership is a highly successful national schools initiative called ‘Wipe Out Waste'. This involved school age children presenting ideas to a panel of green dragons in aid of removing wasteful practices in the school environment. Over 15 members of staff were involved in this event.

Management tool kits/resources are provided to give the manager guides on some of the key HR policies such as how to manage attendance and how to manage a disciplinary. Portico have a policy that allows individuals to request pay/support for external management qualifications. Portico have a number of internal programmes as well as the ILM accredited Team Leading and First Line Management. Portico have a team of Mentors who currently work with Supervisors to help them grow in the business. Mentoring meetings take place monthly. Portico host quarterly Management breakfast seminars for networking and they bring in a speaker/trainer to focus on a key leadership/people manager area.

Portico have a formal Thank you Scheme that is an instant recognition scheme across their whole business. Each location has staff noticeboard to share relevant communications such as internal vacancy list, training posters, event posters. Portico also send out regular posters via email communicating training events, Giving Back events and social activities as well as reward and recognition.

Populous sponsor the ABS fun run as well as taking part and were presented by the Company's Award for the most significant contribution to the ABS in the Course of the year 2010. Populous also donate computers to schools and take part in educational days with school children in addition to donating sports equipment to schools.

Populous have live Q&A surgery sessions at staff meetings. They have no cellular offices so all leader/ senior managers are approachable and work in open plan offices alongside employees. They hold regular staff meetings, talks and office parties and events and all new staff are invited to introduce themselves to the board at a board meeting (collectively). Populous believe that they have approachable leaders.

On average, employees receive 40 hours per year formal training with an average spend of £300 per employee per year. Employees at Ponti's undertake training activities such as: Induction, Fire training, Food Hygiene Supervisory training, Influencing Employee behaviour, Management Development Programme, Barista coffee training, Train the Trainer course and NVQ's.

On average, employees receive 40 hours per year formal training with an average spend of £300 per employee per year. Employees at Ponti's undertake training activities such as: Induction, Fire training, Food Hygiene Supervisory training, Influencing Employee behaviour, Management Development Programme, Barista coffee training, Train the Trainer course and NVQ's.

Places for People have Star Awards to ensure that employees feel they are rewarded for their efforts. The Star Awards include a celebration dinner each year for those who were nominated for the awards. They also hold regular 1 to 1's and appraisals as well as personal thank yous from the CEO.

On average, employees receive 18 hours per year formal training with an average spend per employee on training per year of £80. They provide training activities such as: H&S, Induction, Manual Handling, presentation skills, influencing skills, IT training and leadership development.

They reward employees both monetarily with generous pay, bonus, flexible benefits and pension plans, and in broader terms with their commitment to training, support, recognition and opportunities for career development. As well as custom employee award and recognition schemes such as the GEM awards, they also invest a great deal of time in their in-house training programme so that their employees feel fully challenged, developed and rewarded, not only financially but also socially and professionally.

Penspen Ltd say that the e-cards at Christmas are a great idea as they are both sustainable and a great way of freeing up additioanl funds for charity. They also encourage small enterprise giving, supporting charity bungee jumps etc. The weekly 'Ramble and Roll' through Richmond Park also requests a small charitable donation to be given in order to take part. A number of their employees help and support local fundraising activities via small group enterprise eg. by raising money for their nearest Elizabeth Fitzroy Home, which provides support for people with disabilities.

Management Workshops are run for all existing managers and aspiring managers to aquipe them with the skills and knowledge to motivate and manage their teams in line with best practice and Company Policy. Where appropriate external management qualifications are supported through the Company assisted study programme and internal management workshops are run periodically for all people managers. Mentoring is provided by one of their Directors, all of which have been fully trained. Many Managers at Pattonair are members of a proffessional body e.g. CIPD, CQI, CIMA, CIPS and they attend seminars periodically to keep up to date with new initiatives and network with others in their field for support. Others attend formal courses to contribute to their continuous proffessional development.

Management Workshops are run for all existing managers and aspiring managers to aquipe them with the skills and knowledge to motivate and manage their teams in line with best practice and Company Policy. Where appropriate external management qualifications are supported through the Company assisted study programme and internal management workshops are run periodically for all people managers. Mentoring is provided by one of their Directors, all of which have been fully trained. Many Managers at Pattonair are members of a proffessional body e.g. CIPD, CQI, CIMA, CIPS and they attend seminars periodically to keep up to date with new initiatives and network with others in their field for support. Others attend formal courses to contribute to their continuous proffessional development.

Parasol has an annual motivational plan setting out a variety of special, entertaining events/activities for staff to look forward to throughout the year. They ask volunteers from across the business to help come up with ideas for events and take ownership of planning and running the activities on the day. Parasol's customer service team celebrated Customer Service week with team activities and a competition to come up with a bright idea to make their customers love Parasol even more. They promoted a bit of healthy competition amongst teams in their health and wellbeing/sports week.

The Chief Executive believes that Parasol's most important asset is the people. He gets a kick out of seeing people developing and performing to the best they can be because he recognises that each individual success leads to an even more successful future for Parasol. On occasions where a team is out of the office at team building events for example and the department is being operated by a skeleton staff, the Chief Executive regularly mucks in, emerging from his office to answer phones and respond to queries normally picked up by the team. This really builds morale amongst those looking on.

There is a full training schedule available to each member of staff that not only helps you to be competent within your current role, but will also help you reach the next stage in your career. Personal development is another area that the training department have worked on at great length. Palmarium feel it is important that you cannot only achieve your work targets and goals but that hopefully, with some guidance, they can be here to help you reach your personal goals and objectives. Their courses are continuously being reviewed and developed to ensure they are keeping abreast of market conditions, trends and also that they are enabling you to achieve then exceed.

Palmrium Management have access to a dedicated recruitment and training organisation (elite). Management are also given membership to governing bodies i.e. CIPS and ACCA

At Orchid they want everyone to enjoy working with them, both whilst they are at their place of work and also when they are enjoying their personal leisure time. Orchid understand that a work life balance is important and to give you an extra helping hand they have introduced “Orchid Concierge” which is a re launch of the Time & Knowledge brochure. Time & Knowledge are here to give you an extra hand to help you take care of all those jobs you have to do but don't have the time to sort out, or the knowledge as to who are the best people to use. They will put you in touch with suppliers who can accomplish the jobs you need doing, across a variety of services that range from the ordinary to the unexpected. Whether you're planning a party, looking for a plumber, arranging a holiday or searching for the perfect gift, they can help.

At Orchid they want everyone to enjoy working with them, both whilst they are at their place of work and also when they are enjoying their personal leisure time. Orchid understand that a work life balance is important and to give you an extra helping hand they have introduced “Orchid Concierge” which is a re launch of the Time & Knowledge brochure. Time & Knowledge are here to give you an extra hand to help you take care of all those jobs you have to do but don't have the time to sort out, or the knowledge as to who are the best people to use. They will put you in touch with suppliers who can accomplish the jobs you need doing, across a variety of services that range from the ordinary to the unexpected. Whether you're planning a party, looking for a plumber, arranging a holiday or searching for the perfect gift, they can help.

A technical training programme is provided for each practice group in the firm. These programmes typically involve a mix of new legal developments, refreshers on core areas of black letter law and practice and updates on key industry sectors. The format of this training range from traditional talks, to workshops based on case studies and where appropriate, more informal group discussions and debriefs. A comprehensive range of skills training sessions is provided within the Client and Business Development Skills area to help support the overall strategy for client and business development in the firm. Courses cover content such as effective client relationship management, client listening, pitch training and creating new business opportunities.

Olswang work in genuine partnership with charities raising money, providing pro bono legal advice and volunteering. They encourage absolutely all of their people to get involved in their community investment work as although they are a law firm Olswang understand that all their people have skills to offer. They have a huge level of engagement in their CR programme with 58% of their people actively involved.

All employees at NuStar are eligible for a bonus. Some employees are eligible for the company's Long Term Incentive plan. NuStar have introduced Total Reward Statements which will be issued to all European employees.

All employees at NuStar are eligible for a bonus. Some employees are eligible for the company's Long Term Incentive plan. NuStar have introduced Total Reward Statements which will be issued to all European employees.

NPS Group offer employees discounted gym membership and further reductions with other companies. They also provide BUPA Wellness Leaflets that cover managing stress in the workplace policy, quitting smoking and other mental issues. NPS Group also implemented East of England Mental Health First Aid.

NPS Group ensure that employees feel that they are rewarded for their efforts by providing them with a Profit Share Payment once a year. Re-investment in Training also ensures employees feel rewarded along with appraisals once a year, 1:1's and Financial PPA to recognise individuals performance.

Employees at Novotel UK undergo formal team building once to twice a year. A recent example of this is when a team was sent to The Art of Engagement.

Examples of training activities that employees might undertake at Novotel UK are: Induction Next -an E-learning tool, Food & Safety E-learning, Health & Safety E learning and Accor Internal Management Training.

Newton is committed to professional development. Employees learn fast and during the early part of their career, their development will be guided by one-to-one mentoring from the lead consultant on site. They are always free to contact anyone in the company at any time for extra advice and input. Newton have a formal appraisal process every six months to identify employees strengths, address any weaknesses and plan their skill development. Employees also attend in-depth courses off site, designed to build their confidence and expertise in specific areas such as sales and marketing, project finance or production planning.

Newton held a Summer Weekend which was 3 days down in Newquay doing activities that included surfing, coast steering, zip line, assault course/teambuilding, black tie dinner and beach BBQ. Partners were also invited. There was also a Winter ski-trip which was a long weekend skiing in the French Alps. There are quarterly activity days. These have included a spa day, Alton Towers, caving and gorge walking in Wales and go-karting. Bi-weekly Thursday night fun has included a casino night, going to the dogs, fencing, going for nice meals and themed BBQ nights.

Napp believe that the most important way to feel that they are rewarded, is for them to receive immediate feedback and thanks, from whomever their efforts have supported. Individuals who perform well are given the opportunity to take on more responsibility or become involved in different projects in the future. Whilst this is not a formal reward, it is motivating for individuals to be recognised in this way.

Napp believe that the most important way to feel that they are rewarded, is for them to receive immediate feedback and thanks, from whomever their efforts have supported. Individuals who perform well are given the opportunity to take on more responsibility or become involved in different projects in the future. Whilst this is not a formal reward, it is motivating for individuals to be recognised in this way.

There was an across the board pay reivew of 3% in July 2010. Also a bonus was paid in June 2010 to all employees which was both performance and profit related, depending on job roles. In April 2009 they changed the store bonus to half-yearly: this bonus goes to the whole store team and is entirely based on their store performance. This motivates staff through the knowledge that their own performance determines the success of the store. The bonus is up to 8% of annual salary, including overtime payments, and so reflects their total contribution. At that same time the head offices management scheme was realigned to reflect performance. Junior head office staff who had delivered exceptional performance (as nominated by the Leadership team) were rewarded with a one-off discretionary bonus of up to £1000. The share-save scheme gives all employees the opportunity to by rewarded for their efforts through increases in the share price. They acknowledge that recognitiion for greatness can be as valuable as monetary rewards and the various award schemes which they run give employees and teams the opportunity to be thanked in person by members of the Exec.

Last christmas they had a lunch-time reception for head office employees. They also hold a fabulous party for the children of head office employees on Christmas Eve. Store teams receive a budget per head for their Christmas celebration. Last year they also held a summer carnival for head office employees. Their is a social committee at head office which arranges fun events like quiz evenings, bingo nights and theatre trips.

Supporting local charities and businesses is a huge part of what Morrison do and they are dedicated to helping the communities they serve do their bit for charity and the environment. The CSR manager is putting in place a charity events plan at the moment with Shelter and will follow this to ensure Morrison are working in partnership with them to maximise every fundraising opportunity they can.

Morrison believes in celebrating the success of their people and using their full suite of engagement tools through which to do this. They publicly celebrate success through their internal magazine “Connect”, their intranet “MINT” and also through their recognition scheme, Morrison Stars. They also reward good performance with one off thank yous from senior managers to their staff and actively publish compliment letters from clients in the company magazine.

Andrew Jackson is an excellent ambassador for the Company. He exudes confidence and passion through his knowledge, approachability and desire to listen to and make time for employees and customers who ensure that the Company is successful. Andrew Jackson lives and breathes the values of the Company. He is a trusted and inspirational leader who, with the direction of the Board of Directors, strives to maintain and improve sustainable growth and competitive advantage to ensure that Mole Valley Farmers provide for future generations. Andrew farms in his spare time and organises social events for his local farming community.

Andrew Jackson is an excellent ambassador for the Company. He exudes confidence and passion through his knowledge, approachability and desire to listen to and make time for employees and customers who ensure that the Company is successful. Andrew Jackson lives and breathes the values of the Company. He is a trusted and inspirational leader who, with the direction of the Board of Directors, strives to maintain and improve sustainable growth and competitive advantage to ensure that Mole Valley Farmers provide for future generations. Andrew farms in his spare time and organises social events for his local farming community.

Line managers ensure that employees work loads are manageable and also monitor how many hours people are working. Also Metro are organising Personal Energy Workshops for all staff which are designed to investigate their personal energy levels through understanding the factors that either boost or drain one's internal energy battery and how the employee can influence their motivation drive and enthusiasm on a daily basis. There are a lot of flexibility arrangements of an informal nature, in operation. Metro have a flexibility policy which covers carers and people with children under the age of 16 or under 18 where disabled. This is where they grant flexibility on a more formal basis. Additionally, Metro have in the past, given extended periods of absence and/or flexibility for personal issues. A good example of this is where there has been bereavement.

Line managers ensure that employees work loads are manageable and also monitor how many hours people are working. Also Metro are organising Personal Energy Workshops for all staff which are designed to investigate their personal energy levels through understanding the factors that either boost or drain one's internal energy battery and how the employee can influence their motivation drive and enthusiasm on a daily basis. There are a lot of flexibility arrangements of an informal nature, in operation. Metro have a flexibility policy which covers carers and people with children under the age of 16 or under 18 where disabled. This is where they grant flexibility on a more formal basis. Additionally, Metro have in the past, given extended periods of absence and/or flexibility for personal issues. A good example of this is where there has been bereavement.

All managers have access to the industry body and seminars which are run for creatives, planners, account handling and finance. For example Meteorite's new Business Manager will attend seminars specifically for new business managers whereby they discuss best practice and how to ensure you get enough support for your company. Meteorite believe that they train all of their managers to manage people not subordinates. The HR Manager is responsible for their 'People Programme' and ensures that line managers receive quarterly training on team management skills and personal development.

Quarterly employee awards are announced in Meteorite's company meetings. Prizes include shopping vouchers, champagne and chocolates and activity such as a sailing day at Cowes. Employees are rewarded extra holiday after 3 full years and another 1 after 4 years and a Sabbatical after 5 years. Team leaders are empowered to reward team members with instant surprise and delight prizes including lunches, sweets and vouchers. Those who have achieved best practice are often made an example of in company meetings. Instant reward for New Business leads can amount to £100-£1000, recruitment £1000, award winning work - dinners, weekend away, spa days.

Merck Serono have personalised performance related bonus scheme for each employee who encompasses their individual performance and also has an element related to the overall performance of the whole team in the UK. Numerous recognition schemes and award schemes to recognise their employees contributions and successes e.g. Ambassador Award, Gold Club Award, Best Pharma Award, Shine Award, Innovation Award etc. The performance of both individuals and teams is also recognised and celebrated both at department, team and company meetings both verbally and in presentations as well as such other channels as internal communications, publications, plasma TV informational update screen's in their Head Office to name but a few.

Staff at Merck Serono recently contributed towards their in-house "Pakistan Flood Appeal" by buying Fair trade Chocolate - all proceeds of which went to the PFA charity. Merck Serono donated all the chocolate sold. They also organise and fund a Christmas Party for the residents of a local OAP' Residents Home. This is their ONLY Christmas Party. They also take them a present each. Globally the organisation supports many local country or world wide charities such as providing medicines and medically related supplies to under developed countries where populations are in need. By taking part in certain worthwhile company initiatives staff can ensure that funding is made available to help feed needy homeless orphans in the "Joy" Orphanage in Zambia, Africa.

Masternaut offers generous basic salaries which are well above average for its industry sector.Salespeople receive generous commission and bonuses - and have uncapped earnings potential. One-to-one meetings with the MD - Martin Port has a 'management by walking around' style - he establishes a regular dialogue with all staff and offers praise and encouragement to make colleagues feel valued and their achievements recognised. Colleagues can book a 1-2-1 with Martin whenever they want, and this open door policy encourages staff to tell management about their successes and achievements.

Masternaut has spent approximately £25,000 on fun and social events per head in the last year. Some examples of these events are; Family fun day - where all employees and their families were invited. An annual Xmas party which includes a formal reception, dinner and dancing, plus an awards ceremony. Awards are presented to different departments which celebrates and recognises their team success and 'Martin's Den' - an annual Dragon's Den style event where employees can pitch to the board in teams and at the end of the night the most innovative idea wins investment.

As part of their health and well being focus Lloyd's had themed food in their on-site restaurants and seminars on nutrition and health eating. Their restaurants always offer healthy food options which are clearly labelled. There is an Employee Assistance Programme with advice and counselling available. Lloyd's offer external Occupational Health support and Private Medical Insurance to help with costs of any treatment. There is an on-site nurse available for advice. Voluntary health assessments are available which include tests and advice. Health assessments are offered to all employees every two years.

As part of their health and well being focus Lloyd's had themed food in their on-site restaurants and seminars on nutrition and health eating. Their restaurants always offer healthy food options which are clearly labelled. There is an Employee Assistance Programme with advice and counselling available. Lloyd's offer external Occupational Health support and Private Medical Insurance to help with costs of any treatment. There is an on-site nurse available for advice. Voluntary health assessments are available which include tests and advice. Health assessments are offered to all employees every two years.

The Society invested nearly £15,000 in the employee association. During this time there were approximately 1000 employee association members. This cost includes the annual dinner which is heavily subsidised by the Society with half of the venue amount being paid as well as all transport costs. This is a total of approx £11000 per year for the annual dinner only. The employee association is run by its employees. As well as the annual dinner, events include darts competition, pub quizzes, trips to Dublin, pantomimes, strictly come dancing live tour, pub concerts, X factor tour, family days to Drayton Manor Park etc. and many more.

Lincolnshire is a co-operative business, owned and run democratically by its members (including their employees), operating convenience stores, pharmacies, post offices etc. which puts them right at the heart of the local community. They have a team of 8 people dedicated to working with their members and the local community which enables them to work with hundreds of charities and community groups each year and they're in the process of recruiting for a new role in each of their food stores to work closer with the local community and to help charities.

Lakehouse's founder and Chief Executive has a very distinctive management style. He has always operated an 'open door' policy and all staff, from managers to site assistants know they are free to speak with him in his office anytime and always receive a warm welcome. He makes great efforts to get to know staff on a personal level and even feels frustrated that with such rapid expansion and recruitment he finds it hard to keep up with getting to know all the new faces. Most times people meet him they are completely unaware they have just met the owner of the company, as he is a very unassuming man, rarely wears formal clothes and introduces himself simply as 'Steve'. Steve also encourages others to dress informally and come to work how they feel best comfortable.

Lakehouse's founder and Chief Executive has a very distinctive management style. He has always operated an 'open door' policy and all staff, from managers to site assistants know they are free to speak with him in his office anytime and always receive a warm welcome. He makes great efforts to get to know staff on a personal level and even feels frustrated that with such rapid expansion and recruitment he finds it hard to keep up with getting to know all the new faces. Most times people meet him they are completely unaware they have just met the owner of the company, as he is a very unassuming man, rarely wears formal clothes and introduces himself simply as 'Steve'. Steve also encourages others to dress informally and come to work how they feel best comfortable.

L&Q have team and individual rewards for great work towards targets. This includes dining out, theatre tickets, a bottle of wine, flowers, chocolates, book, CD or store voucher. They also hold annual outstanding achievers awards, they receive 2.5% of salary as a bonus for 5% of staff. The staff also receive an attendance award for 100% attendance of one day's additional annual leave and they have professional qualification awards of £100 for a pass and £200 for a pass with distinction.

L&Q have team and individual rewards for great work towards targets. This includes dining out, theatre tickets, a bottle of wine, flowers, chocolates, book, CD or store voucher. They also hold annual outstanding achievers awards, they receive 2.5% of salary as a bonus for 5% of staff. The staff also receive an attendance award for 100% attendance of one day's additional annual leave and they have professional qualification awards of £100 for a pass and £200 for a pass with distinction.

Knowledge for Action training activities include Sales approach training, NLP and Dale Carnegie Training.

For performance recognition the staff nominated winner receives a cup and presentation and a gift of their choice up to value of £100. After 4 years, 5 years and 10 years service there is a presentation of plaques and gift of up to £100. Instant recognition is a 'Wow' award for achievement and one gift of their choice up to the value of £100.

At King Sturge, the Joint Senior Partners have involvement with staff at all levels. The culture of the firm is such that all Board Members are seated in open plan offices, sitting alongside other staff at all levels. It is only in rare cases that they will have an office due to confidentiality and necessity. The senior members of the Boards therefore are very visible in the workplace and this combined with the Open Door policy which is in operation ensures that staff can approach and discuss any issues with them.

At King Sturge, the Joint Senior Partners have involvement with staff at all levels. The culture of the firm is such that all Board Members are seated in open plan offices, sitting alongside other staff at all levels. It is only in rare cases that they will have an office due to confidentiality and necessity. The senior members of the Boards therefore are very visible in the workplace and this combined with the Open Door policy which is in operation ensures that staff can approach and discuss any issues with them.

The management regularly reviews performance of all staff. Strengths and weaknesses of all individuals are identified. Strategic decisions are then taken to develop and promote particular individuals with special aptitudes to roles and positions, current or emerging. They might be assigned to specific projects which would provide them with the appropriate training and practical experience. Often this is a reciprocal process which dovetails individual aspirations with the needs of the company.

Employees are congratulated by Directors and other team leaders upon achieving any success. The annual bonus award is also based on a clear and transparent system of scoring which is performance based which ensures that staff feel that they are rewarded for their efforts. Worthwhile achievements are also mentioned in the company newsletter, the Intranet and Twitter.

Jaguar Land Rover has a performance management system for management and staff where employees have objectives and regular meetings with their manager to assess their performance and identify training needs. Twice a year their performance is assessed and a rating is agreed for Managers and staff in roles. This rating drives pay increases and the multiplier for a bonus. Recent negotiations with trade unions have progressed this method of reward to include all staff at professional levels.

Popular projects have involved environmental work, regeneration and building improvements. Employees from the market research team planted trees and hedgerows at a National Trust house in Shropshire. Engineers from the Supplier Technical Assistance department helped to rejuvenate a neglected recreation area at a clinic for recovering drug addicts in Warwickshire. A team of volunteers from the Solihull plant created an outdoor educational centre and orienteering course at a residential school for children with learning difficulties.

Employees feel they are rewarded for their efforts with continuous recognition through appraisals and 1-1 meetings. There are Company incentive schemes where reward is linked to performance. Incentivised suggestion schemes are in place and Intrinsic celebrate success through company newsletters and employee reward initiatives.

Performance is recognised throughout the company by incentive schemes which are linked to individual performance objectives. Intrinsic also have regular employee events where a number of employees have received Virgin Experience Days and holiday vouchers for outstanding performance. Intrinsic's culture is one of great communication and teamworking. Line management throughout the company heavily believe in acknowledging and rewarding a job well done. The company's newsletter takes this one step further by celebrating success of exams, promotions and outstanding achievements. Intrinsic believe that celebrating success is a key ingredient to a motivated workforce. Ideas to improve customer service, company performance and ideas on new service branding are actively encouraged with their incentivised suggestion scheme. The suggestion scheme offers vouchers for the best suggestion each quarter.

Innogistic have implemented a formal volunteering policy and intranet based knowledge sharing site, demonstrating their commitment to giving something back to the community in which they are based and supports one of their company values: Valuing society – we take ethical, environmental and social responsibilities seriously.

Innogistic encourages employees to be pro-active about looking after their health and wellbeing by providing them with a Healthcare cash plan. This plan assists with the everyday costs of looking after their health and well being, by giving them cash towards a wide range of health related costs. There are different levels of cover available and Innogistic pay for a Level 3 plan as standard for employees. Employees can also if they wish upgrade their plan and/or arrange cover for their family by paying the respective premium through payroll.

There is a study policy in place. The company have an employee undertaking the MA Human Resources management at Portsmouth University funded by the company. There is a wide range of internal courses run every year. These are advertised on the courses calendar of events and includes courses such as running successful meetings, presentation skills, appraisal skills and HR for managers. They encourage 'stand in' opportunities for employees to stand in for their manager for periods of less than 3 months. This allows an employee to get experience of people management.

There is a study policy in place. The company have an employee undertaking the MA Human Resources management at Portsmouth University funded by the company. There is a wide range of internal courses run every year. These are advertised on the courses calendar of events and includes courses such as running successful meetings, presentation skills, appraisal skills and HR for managers. They encourage 'stand in' opportunities for employees to stand in for their manager for periods of less than 3 months. This allows an employee to get experience of people management.

There is strong communication in the form of monthly staff meetings, monthly newsletter etc. There are staff incentives which could be cash or any other relevant reward. Length of service anniversaries are recognised. There are bi-annual appraisals and every member of staff has a probation period review. There are also staff events.

There is strong communication in the form of monthly staff meetings, monthly newsletter etc. There are staff incentives which could be cash or any other relevant reward. Length of service anniversaries are recognised. There are bi-annual appraisals and every member of staff has a probation period review. There are also staff events.

HR works closely with Line Managers across the agency to ensure members' efforts and development are being captured. These are also recorded in performance appraisal documents. These are also acknowledged out to the agency through HPS' internal newsletter.

HPS Group carry out visits and talks to local schools. They carry out volunteer work in partnership with Wendover House a local boarding school for boys aged 11-15 where they organise sporting events and raise money to help with equipment and other needs.

Hill & Knowlton provide line managers and mentors to provide one to one advice, support and mentoring. In addition they run creative workshops, presentation skills, they hold seminars with broadcasters and journalists and digital acceleration courses. They also send senior management on a range of courses designed to help them manage senior client relationships effectively, complex problem solving, leadership, relationship building skills and accountability.

The Hub is Hill & Knowlton's new skills academy. The hub puts training at the heart of agency life, emphasising the need for us all to keep learning and developing. Courses offered focus on five core skill areas: Writing, Media Relations, Creativity, Presenting and Business management.

The Leader's communication skills are exceptional and regularly meets with employees. All employees know who their MD is. Some Managers work alongside employees and they are also launching a day in the life where senior Managers will spend a day working in a department to understand how the departments work and operate.

The Leader's communication skills are exceptional and regularly meets with employees. All employees know who their MD is. Some Managers work alongside employees and they are also launching a day in the life where senior Managers will spend a day working in a department to understand how the departments work and operate.

Employee recognition awards are given throughout the year and announced monthly in the Management Team's monthly newsletter. They also have an awards ceremony at their Christmas party. Employees receiving a recognition award get a letter thanking them for their efforts and are awarded vouchers of their choice. Nominations can be made by peers or managers. A suggestions scheme is also in place. Anyone who makes a suggestion receives a mug and those who make a suggestion that results in a tangible benefit for the company receive an award in the form of vouchers.

Managers have access to an additional set of guidelines in the HR manual which talk them through how to handle key issues and situations. They run workshops as part of the management development programme. One of the aims is to get managers together from different parts of the business so they can build their support networks. They also have a document which clearly outlines the expectations of a line manager at Hay Group so managers know what they are aspiring to. All managers have access to 1-2-1s and ad hoc advice and support from their HR business partner.

Harvest realise that there are many ways to reward employees for their efforts and have a number of financial and non financial schemes in place. They have a policy of paying in the upper quartile across the organisation and carry out salary benchmarking activities to ensure this is maintained. Their pension scheme provide choice and Harvest make substantial contributions on behalf of employees into this scheme. They also provide a Health Sure Scheme which is non- contributory for all staff and they provide enhanced maternity, paternity and sickness benefits and leave.

Harvest employ Neighbourhood Support Officers whose key role is support, promote and maximise the effectiveness of local community services and projects. Since 2007 Environmental Sustainability has been one of the 6 key business objectives for Harvest, placing environmental issues high on the agenda of every member of staff. Objectives are cascaded down through the performance management system allowing them to dedicate staff time to environmental issues and tap into widespread goodwill.

Within their monthly newsletter "Cross Talk" they have "stars of the month" and recognise years of service with vouchers. We also ensure that line managers communicate client feedback to the relevant individual. Employees are encouraged to put forward innovative ideas to their "My Bright Idea" for which employees can email in ideas for cash rewards.

Every team are given a subsidy for each employee at Christmas. Conferences are held to bring employees together and local arrangements are made for other social events. Although they do not have a specific budget for fun and social events they do hold Christmas events and summer BBQ's for their employees across the country.

Employees are encouraged to eat healthily and they are offered a free range of healthy meals whilst on duty as well as fresh fruit. They have signed up to the 'cycle to work scheme' where they loan employees money to buy a bike.

Harbour and Jones ensure that employees feel they are rewarded for their efforts in a variety of different ways. Employees are given vouchers for meals at restaurants, food hampers, signed cook books and attend staff parties. The Company Directors also send employees Birthday cards and Christmas gifts.

To encourage team building they hold a range of events including a Family Days, Loss Control Celebration Dinners for various shifts and departments, free drinks at staff Christmas dinners and BBQs for those on Continuous Shifts.

To encourage team building they hold a range of events including a Family Days, Loss Control Celebration Dinners for various shifts and departments, free drinks at staff Christmas dinners and BBQs for those on Continuous Shifts.

The CEO of Grayling has an open and human approach, in which she communicates with all staff in a similar manner. She conducts some of the training in their Future Fit programme to maintain her profile across all locations. Staff are aware that all senior Directors are approachable and have no doors!

Appraisal and inductions toolkits are provided to all managers at Grayling. Internal management development training includes a series of People Power webinars covering topics including coaching, appraisals and mentoring. All staff are also allocated a mentor and Directors take part in a co-coaching scheme. External coaching is also available to Directors.

Some of the training activities that employees may take are IPA Foundation/Advanced certificates run by the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising, Team Management Skills, Presentation Skills, Microsoft Office training, Social Media training, Digital Bitesize sessions where staff share knowledge about their particular field of expertise, Digital Immersion sessions - half day programme where each head speaks to new starters about how the role of their department fits into the rest of the agency.

glue value chances for the agency to bond socially as it produces more effective teams and relationships. They ensure that they take all glue employees away for one weekend a year to a festival during the summer to simply have some fun and bond with fellow colleagues outside the formal confines of the office. This year gllue went to the Big Chill Festival and had their own enclosure within one of the campsites. Each department has an annual away-day which focuses on building and developing team work. They have regular special cinema screenings where they show work by glue staff.

Once a month, they host a Friday get together, which is organised by a trainee or newly qualified solicitor which the firm pays for. In addition, they also hold a summer party. All employees along with their partners/spouses are invited and all food and drink is free. Each year the firm also organises a pantomime, where a venue and performing theatre company are hired to present a pantomime. Clients, employees and their families are all invited. Specific teams or departments frequently go out together to celebrate a specific event whether of a personal or professional nature.

Employees are actively encouraged to take on studies which will further their personal development and they will support this financially and/or with time. Regular cross department presentations take place to improve knowledge of expertise within teams or departments when an employee has been on a course or dealt with a particularly interesting piece of work. Email groups for personnel working on various sectors enable knowledge sharing. Non technical skills are valued and employees are encouraged to go on courses for self development and personal growth purposes. These include people management, time management and confidence building courses.